Chrissy
by lil Kass
Summary: Catherine had a daughter when she was young...now that daughter is growing up and is more like Catherine than she realizes. Can Catherine handle it? Grillows later on Rated M for very mature content.Please R
1. Chapter 1

Chrissy

Author's note…This is my first CSI Fanfic…it's Grillows…my fave couple. I am unsure of Catherine's actual age, but this is an idea that came to me…so bear with me, please.

Rated T for later chapters…that may change, though, depending on how things go. That said, please read and review.

December 1983

Catherine awoke to the obnoxious buzz of her alarm clock. She reached her hand out from under the covers and smacked the button to turn it off. After a few minutes, she sighed as she sat up. As she yawned, she felt a wave of nausea coming on. She threw a hand over her mouth as she dashed into the bathroom. Once she had gargled to get the bad taste out of her mouth, she went back into her room to get dressed. Today was the last day before Christmas vacation began. As she picked out her attire for the day, she silently wondered why she had been so sick lately. The nausea had started a week earlier. At the time, she just thought it was the stomach flu, but now, she wasn't so sure. She felt her forehead, which felt quite cool to her.

"I should go see the doctor about that. I really don't want to have to fight the flu over Christmas break." She muttered.

As she went back to her closet for her shoes, her calendar on her desk caught her eye. She noticed that she had yet to place a star on it. She went over to the desk and flipped through the calendar. She flipped back to November and also didn't see a star. She flipped back to October and saw that the last star made was on October 22, nearly two months ago. Her eyes bulged as she realized just what might be the problem. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her mother's voice.

"Catherine, hurry up!!! You're going to be late at this rate!!"

Catherine glanced at the clock, which read 7:45 am.

"Damn!!" She yelled as she realized that she only had 30 minutes to get to school. She grabbed her book bag and ran downstairs. She grabbed the toast from her mother and downed it, followed by a glass of orange juice. After bidding Lily goodbye, she rushed out the door. As she walked, she heard a car horn. She turned to see her best friend, Shannon, driving up beside her.

"Hey Cath, need a ride?"

She smiled. "Yeah, that'd be great. Mr. Richmond said that if I was late one more time that I'd have detention."

She got into the car and the two hurried off to school. As the entered the building, another wave of nausea hit Catherine. She ran into the girls' room, where she lost her breakfast. Concerned, Shannon followed her friend. When Catherine came out of the stall, she was met by a concerned look from Shannon.

"Cath, you okay?"

Catherine knows that she can trust her friend, but she is not quite ready to reveal anything…at least not until she is certain herself.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just have the stomach flu."

"Ah, okay. You sure you're okay? I mean, I can bring you home if you want. You don't look so good."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll make it. But, I would appreciate it if you could bring me home and stop at the drugstore for me to pick up some soup."

"Sure, whatever you need."

Their conversation is cut short by the bell ringing. Catherine quickly splashes water on her face and runs to her homeroom with Shannon not far behind. The day drags on slowly as Catherine watches the clock. After what seems like an eternity, the school day is over. Though the nausea has subsided, Catherine is now sick with worry that her suspicions will be confirmed. She waits for Shannon at their usual spot. A few minutes later, Shannon appears.

"Hey Cath, are you feeling any better?"

"Not really. I think I may need to go home."

"Well, let's see about getting you home."

They go to the car and take off in the direction of Catherine's house. As the pass by the drug store, Catherine reminds Shannon that she needs to stop for some soup and some other things. Shannon turns the car around and parks in front of the store.

"I'll be right back."

"Well, I needed a few things to, so I was going to come in with you."

"Oh, alright then."

Though Catherine didn't want Shannon going with her and seeing exactly what she was buying, she also didn't want to raise her suspicions by saying she didn't want her there. The two of them go into the store together. Catherine quickly locates the soup and grabs two cans just to try to keep up her ruse. She then goes off in search of what she really came for. Shannon, who suspects nothing, follows Catherine. As Catherine grabs what she needs, she sees Shannon looking at her with wide eyes.

"Catherine?"

"Shannon, it's just a feeling I have. You have to promise not to say anything until I'm completely sure."

"But…I…alright, I won't say anything."

"Good. Now, let's get out of here."

The two head up to the front to pay for their purchases. The woman at the check-out counter gives Catherine a strange look as she rings up her total. Catherine quickly hands the clerk the money and rushes out the door right behind Shannon. They get in the car and soon they are at Catherine's house. Much to Catherine's relief, she finds a note from her mother stating that she would be working a double shift at the diner and wouldn't be home until the next morning and that there was leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator.

"Cath, you need me to spend the night?"

"No, I need to do this myself. I'll call you later."

"Okay then. Hope it turns out the way you want it to."

Catherine smiles slightly. "Me too, Shan, me too."

Catherine walks Shannon to the door and then locks it before heading into the den to watch some TV.

The next morning, Catherine wakes up early to make sure that Lily won't be home yet. She goes into the bathroom, checks the instructions on the box and does just what they say. With that done, all she can do is wait, hoping that she is wrong. She decides to occupy herself by cleaning up her room a bit. Once the time has elapsed, Catherine nervously bites her lip as she goes back into the bathroom. She picks up the box to see how to read the results and then looks at the tube.

"Damn it!!" As if on cue, a wave of nausea overcomes her and she gets sick. After brushing her teeth, she looks in the mirror and then at her flat tummy. "Oh my god, I'm pregnant."

After a moment, the reality of her words set in. She feels tears forming in her eyes as she rushes to the phone and calls Shannon. After three rings, someone picks up.

"Hello?"

"Shannon?"

"Yeah. Hey Cath, what's up? Have you done it yet?"

Catherine stifles a sniffle as she responds. "I just did."

"And?"

"Shannon, I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Cath."

Catherine collapses in tears on the floor next to the phone. In disbelief, she says it again. "I'm pregnant."

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

"Catherine, I'm coming."

Before Catherine can object, Shannon hangs up the phone and is on her way over to Catherine's house. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rings. Catherine goes down and lets her best friend in. Shannon says nothing. She just opens her arms and let's Catherine cry on her shoulder.

"Cath, it's okay. You'll get through this. You know I'm always here for you."

"How? My mom is going to flip…I can't have a kid…not now."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I don't know. I'm just so confused."

"Cath, I…"

Their conversation is cut short by Catherine's mother, who has just arrived home. She sees immediately that she appears to have interrupted something.

"Hi girls. What's going on?"

"Not much. I didn't want to spend the night alone, so Shannon stayed over. She was just leaving."

Catherine looks at Shannon, indicating that she will be fine. Shannon squeezes her hand before leaving. Once the door shuts, Catherine turns back to her mother.

"So, how was work?"

"Work was fine. Catherine, are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm fine…I just…I…I need to talk to you."

"Okay."

"Can we sit down?"

Catherine leads her mother into the living room, where they take a seat on the couch.

"Mom, there's something I have to tell you. Please don't be upset with me."

"Catherine, I already don't like where this is going. What did you do?"

"I…well, I…I'm…" Catherine shuts her eyes and looks down for a moment. "I'm pregnant."

For a moment, her mother says nothing. Then she speaks. "You're pregnant? Catherine, how in hell did you get yourself pregnant?!?!"

Catherine flinches at the anger in her mother's voice. "Mom, I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Catherine, saying you're sorry doesn't fix things. You're still in high school. What do you plan on doing about this?"

"I don't know…I just did the test this morning."

"Well, it's still early on. I suggest you explore your options. Think it through…because it's not just your life that's at stake."

With that, her mother walks out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

2000

Catherine finished getting ready for work. She was supposed to have off, but Greg had to call in sick, so she got called in. As she headed for the door, she addressed her 16-year old daughter who sat on the couch watching a movie.

"Christina, you're in charge. Make sure Lindsay gets to bed early. Lock the door behind me. And no friends over. Don't forget you're still grounded. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand."

"Good, have a good night." Before she can object, Catherine goes over and kisses the top of her head and walks out the door.

After Catherine left, Lindsay came into the living room.

"Can I watch the movie with you?"

"Sure, come on."

Lindsay takes a seat next to her sister. The two girls watch the movie in silence. When the movie is over, Christina turns to Lindsay.

"Okay, bedtime."

When she gets no response, she looks at her and sees that she is leaning on the other arm of the couch. She gently wakes her and helps her upstairs and into her pajamas. She tucks her in and then leaves the room. She heads into her own room, where she briefly sits down on the bed before catching a glimpse at the clock. It is nearly 10pm…that means she has to get ready for work.

She heads into the closet and grabs everything she will need for work. She peeks in on Lindsay once more and then quietly walks out the front door, making sure to lock it behind her. With Lindsay secure in the house, Christina begins her walk to where her boyfriend, Rocky, will pick her up to drive her to work. When she arrives, she sees him already waiting for him.

"You're late. You know Robert won't like that."

"I'm sorry babe, it's just that Catherine left me in charge and I had to get my sister in bed before I left."

"Whatever. Let's go. If we're not that late, maybe Robert will let ya go."

Christina gets into the car and they drive to the French Palace, where she works.

"I'll pick you up at 6am."

"Okay babe. Love ya."

She leans in to kiss him goodbye. They deepen the kiss momentarily before they pull back. She climbs out of the car with her bag in hand and heads inside. Just before she reaches the door, he calls out to her.

"Do your stuff baby."

She smiles back at him. "Like always."

As he drives away, she goes inside. She barely gets in the door before Robert calls out to her.

"You're on in 10 minutes."

"Gotcha. I'll be ready."

She heads to the back where she changes into her first costume for the night…a silver ultra mini skirt, tassel-covered bra, and silver stilettos. She then settles in front of the mirror and styles her thick blonde hair and applies her make-up. She barely finishes before Tamara, another girl who works there, comes to get her.

"You're on."

She gets up and goes to the spot off stage where she waits for her cue to begin her routine. She takes a deep breath as she hears the announcer begin to speak.

"And now, we have a treat for you. You've seen her before and if you thought that was hot, you've not seen anything yet. Doing her new routine, the French Palace is proud to present Kitten."

As the music starts and she steps out onto the stage, a roar goes through the crowd. She immediately turns off her feelings as she performs her routine to "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder and Time Machine. As she dances and moves with the music, her costume falls to the side, piece by piece until she is in nothing but some pasties and underpants that are barely there. For the duration of the song, she goes to various customers and makes them think she is dancing just for them, which earns her excellent tips. As the song ends, she takes a bow and goes backstage to change for her next number.

Meanwhile

At CSI headquarters, Gil Grissom is handing out assignments.

"Warrick, you're behind on your paperwork, so that's what you'll be doing tonight." 

"Aww, Gris…"

"It's out of my hands…I'm getting these orders from higher up. Nick and Sara, you've got a dead body at a casino." 

Nick steps forward and takes the slip with the address from Grissom.

"Catherine, you're with me. It appears that our strip club killer struck again."

Catherine sighs. She used to work in those clubs and going in there reminded her of her past. At the same time, cases like this infuriated her because while the girls and women who worked there may have been misguided, they were making an honest living. She grabs her kit and follows Grissom out to the car for what will be a long night

Back at the French Palace, Christina is on break and decides to step outside for a moment. As she steps outside, a shiver goes up her spine. She chalks it up to the chilly Vegas nights. As she lights up her cigarette, though, she realizes that it is more than just the weather. She suddenly feels someone grab her and shove her hard up against a wall. She tries to scream, but a hand quickly comes over her mouth as the other twists her arm behind her back.

"Not a sound or I'll snap your neck!!! Understood?"

She nods and she is rewarded with the removal of the hand from her mouth.

"Good. Now let's get down to business."

The person slams her into the wall again and continues to beat her. He forces her down to the ground where he rips off what little clothes she has on. She immediately senses what's going on.

"Please don't. I'll do whatever you want."

He backhands her. "I said shut up!!"

He forces her legs apart with his knee and pins her hands above her head. He then proceeds to rape her. Once he is done, he beats her some more until she loses consciousness. He is about to finish her off when he is interrupted by a voice.

"Kitten, what's the hold up? You're on in…"

Sapphire, the girl sent to find her, stops dead in her tracks when she sees her lying on the ground all beaten up and unconscious. After a moment, her brain registers what happened and she screams.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Catherine and Gil are finishing up on the scene where the strip club killer last struck. Catherine looks at the victim, who looks to be nineteen at the absolute oldest and is glad that her own daughters are at home and safe. As they are getting into the car, Catherine's phone rings. She pulls her phone off of its clip on her belt.

"Willows"

As she listens, she grows pale.

"When?"

"We'll be right there."

She flips her phone shut as she turns to Gil.

"We have to get over to the French Palace. It looks like our strip club killer struck again."

Gil nods. "Let's go."

As they make the drive to the French Palace, Catherine remembers her days working at the French Palace and thinks of how she is lucky to have been able to quit working there when she did. As she thinks that she could have been one of the victims had she not gotten out when she did, she becomes emotional and squeezes Gil's hand. He understands what she is thinking and squeezes her hand back. They arrive at the scene and see that the police are already there. Gil puts the Tahoe in park and they jump out with their kits. After asking some questions of Sapphire and the responding officer, they go toward where the victim still lies.

The last thing Christina remembered before passing out was being raped and then beaten. As she came to, she heard commotion all around her. She tried to sit up, but the minute she tried to move, pain shot through her body, causing her to moan in pain.

One of the paramedics was standing nearby thinking to herself that it was quite a sad situation. This girl had so much potential and it was all cut short by some maniac. She was soon jarred out of her thoughts by moaning. Much to her surprise, she realized that it was coming from the girl on the ground. When she arrived on the scene, she hadn't checked her pulse, but now she did and found that she was still alive. She looked up and saw Catherine and Gil walking toward her.

"Hey guys, she's still alive."

Catherine and Gil run over to her. Catherine speaks first.

"What?"

"She's still alive…barely, but she's still alive. The girl who found her must have interrupted our killer."

"Do we have an ID on her?"

"Not yet. We know her stage name is Kitten. I just heard her moan…I don't know if she is fully conscious."

As they talk, Christina recognizes two of the voices…Gil's voice and Catherine's voice. She starts crying as she realizes that Catherine will find out.

"I'll check." Catherine walks over to her. "Sweetie? My name is Catherine. What's your name?"

Her question is just met with the sound of crying. The mother in Catherine immediately kicks in as she tries to comfort the girl.

"It's okay. We're going to help you and find whoever did this to you. Just calm down."

She reaches out and brushes away the hair that covered her face, revealing the victim's identity. Catherine's eyes bulge and she goes deathly pale as she finds herself face to face with her daughter.

"CHRISTINA!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD NO!!!!!!!!!"


	3. Chapter 3

Gil decides to let Catherine handle the victim as he figured she'd be more comfortable with a female CSI, given that the M.O. of the killer was to beat his victims, rape them, then kill them by strangulation. He sets his kit down and begins to put on his gloves to process the scene when he hears Catherine's voice.

"CHRISTINA!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD NO!!!!!!!!!"

He quickly turns and sees her just staring down at the girl. He becomes concerned and goes to her.

"Cath, are you okay? What's…"

He stops short as he catches a glimpse of the girl for himself. For a moment he is at a loss as he sees Catherine's sixteen year-old daughter lying on the ground barely conscious. After a moment, he snaps out of the daze and turns back to the paramedic.

"I need you to call the hospital and tell them we have a victim that we're bringing in. Her name is Christina Willows."

"How do you…"

He inclines his head in the direction of Catherine. "That's her mother. She'll be accompanying her to the hospital."

He looks back at both Catherine and Christina. He can see that while the attacker did not succeed in killing her, he did inflict serious injuries upon her before he was interrupted. Christina, for her part, upon Catherine's realization that she is the latest victim starts crying even harder. As a big sob wracks her body, she moans again, clearly in agony. Hearing her daughter in pain, Catherine wants nothing more than to brush her tears away and hold her and make her feel better. As she reaches out to touch her, a hand on hers stops her.

"Catherine, I know you want nothing more than to hold her, but she is evidence right now and we want to nail this guy."

"Gil, my baby is hurting."

As she says those words, her emotion starts to show in her voice. Christina hears this and tries to speak, wincing with each breath she takes..

"M…Mom…I…I'm…"

Catherine kneels down next to her daughter, but does not touch her, as hard as it is, so that they might possibly get some evidence to nail the bastard who did this. "Shh, baby. It's okay. We'll have plenty of time to talk once we get you to the hospital."

Gil sees that Catherine will not compromise the case, despite her relationship with the victim and so he goes off a bit to make a phone call. He pages Sara and Nick. After a few moments, Sara calls him back.

"Hey Gris, what's up?"

"Sara, I need you, Nick, and Warrick here right away."

"But what about the DB?"

"Give it over to Ecklie and dayshift. I need you for something more important."

"Okay, where are you?"

"I'm at the French Palace."

"Alright, we'll be there in a few."

Sara hangs up with Grissom and quickly finds Nick and fills him in as they head out to the parking lot. Sara drives over to the French Palace in record timing.

"Sara, what's the hurry?"

"Nick, you didn't hear Grissom. There was urgency in his voice...there is something very wrong…something that he couldn't discuss with me on the phone. I just have a feeling that this won't be routine."

They make the rest of the drive in silence. When they get there, they find Grissom waiting for them.

"Thanks for coming, guys. I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't urgent." He pauses for a moment and they both nod for him to continue. "As you both know, Catherine and I are on the case of the strip club killer. We were leaving the scene that we were originally sent to when Catherine got a phone call that the killer had struck again. We rushed over here and quickly found that this victim is different for more than one reason."

Sara looks at him with a confused look. "Okay, and how is this one different?"

"Well, first of all, this victim is still alive. Seems like the killer was interrupted. But that's not all…that's not why I called you."

"Okay, why did you call us? Catherine is the expert on these clubs." 

"Well, Catherine knows this victim…we all do."

Sara and Nick begin to look nervous. "Who is it?"

"It's Christina."

Both of their eyes go wide with shock. Sara finds her voice first. "You mean Christina as in Christina Willows?"

Grissom only nods. "Now you see why I needed you. Obviously Catherine can't remain on the case and well, I'm too close to the case also. So you two are taking over."

Sara, Warrick, and Nick all look at each other. "Us? But Catherine doesn't even…"

"Sara, I know that you and Catherine don't see eye to eye, but you're a damn good CSI and we definitely need a woman's perspective on this."

Nick nods. "We're on it." He turns to Sara. "Let's get started."

They follow Grissom to where Catherine is still sitting next to Christina trying to keep her calm until they are cleared to go to the hospital. When Sara and Nick get there, they see just how bad the situation is. When Grissom said that the victim was still alive, they figured that she wasn't bad off at all. They now see that she narrowly escaped death. After speaking with the paramedic, Sara and Nick give their consent to bring Christina to the hospital. The paramedics put Christina on a stretcher and load her into the ambulance, causing her to moan in pain from the movement. Gil then helps Catherine up into the ambulance.

"Cath, I'll follow you in the Tahoe. See you at the hospital."

The ambulance takes off for the nearest hospital with Gil not far behind. Once they are gone, Sara turns to Warrick and Nick.

"You two want to stay here and process the scene while I go to the hospital to collect evidence from Christina?"

The guys quickly consent, neither one wanting to be the one who has to examine Catherine's daughter so intimately.

After what seems like an eternity, the ambulance arrives at the hospital. The physicians in the emergency room rush Christina back and urge Catherine to wait in the waiting room.

"No, I need to be with my daughter. Please…"

The head doctor addresses Catherine. "Ma'am, I know you really want to help your daughter, but the best thing that you can do right now is to let us do our jobs."

Grissom steps forward. "Come on, Catherine. They'll take care of her and let you know something as soon as they know." Catherine nods. Gil turns to the doctor. "Please do only what you must. She is the victim of a brutal crime and we still need to collect evidence from her."

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks."

Gil ushers Catherine to the waiting room, where he leads her to a chair.

"Cath, what about Lindsay?"

She looks up. "She's at home with…oh no!!! Christina was supposed to be watching her. She's at home all alone!!"

"Maybe you should call your mother."

Catherine nods. "Yes, I should."

She pulls out her phone and dials Lily's number. After a few rings, Lily answers.

"Hello?"

"Mom, it's Catherine. I need you to do me a huge favor. I need you to go stay with Lindsay at my house please."

"I thought Christina…"

"Christina was watching her, but she's at the hospital."

"WHAT!?!"

"I'll explain later. Please just go take care of Lindsay for me."

"Catherine, what's wrong with Christina?"

"Well, she was beaten and raped while she was at work."

"Whoa, someone beat and raped her?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Wait, she was at work? I didn't know she had a job. Where does she work?"

"Mom, I didn't know she had a job either until tonight. She um…she works…" Catherine takes a deep breath. "She works at the French Palace."

"WHAT?!?! You mean she's a waitress?"

"No, she's a dancer…her stage name is Kitten."

"Since when?"

"Mom, I don't know. I just found this out myself."

"Okay, well, I'm on my way to your house."

"Okay. Thanks mom."

"Catherine, you call me as soon as you know something."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Lily takes a deep breath and hangs up the phone.

"Why? Why? First Catherine and now Christina. Why must they learn the hard way?"


	4. Chapter 4

In the emergency room, doctors are putting Christina through a battery of tests, checking for various internal injuries. All at the same time, they also take care to try to preserve as much of the original evidence as possible so that the CSIs have something to work with. While the doctors work, Sara joins Catherine and Gil in the waiting room. After an hour, which seems like days to Catherine, one of the doctors comes out to talk to her.

"Are you the mother of Christina Willows?"

She jumps up, followed by Gil. "Yes, I am. Is she going to be alright?"

"I really wish I had better news, but I have to be honest. Christina suffered some major injuries. We already knew that she was raped. That trauma isn't all she suffered. Internally she looks about as bad if not worse than she looks on the outside. She suffered a bruised kidney, a broken arm, a fractured leg, and multiple broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung. That caused her to have hemothorax, a condition in which the pleural space around the lungs is filled with blood. To alleviate that and allow her to at least be able to breathe, we had to insert a chest tube. The tube will remain for a few days until her lung can regain capacity. Additionally, she also underwent some head trauma. We're still awaiting some other tests, but that's the prognosis as of now."

Catherine fights back tears. "I understand, doctor. Thank you."

The doctor turns to go then suddenly turns back to them. "Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing. As of now, the baby appears to be fine, but the next few hours are very important. The injuries your daughter sustained may also have affected the baby…but some of those injuries will not be immediately apparent. Only time will tell."

It takes Catherine a moment to process what the doctor just told her.

"Chrissy? She's pregnant?"

"Yes, she is. She appears to be about five weeks along. Honestly, she's very lucky that the baby is alright given the severity of the attack."

"I see. Can I see her now?"

"Of course. I'll show you to her room."

Catherine and Grissom follow the doctor to Christina's room. They enter and Catherine gasps as she sees Christina hooked to the ventilator, covered in bruises. Gil instinctively goes behind her and places his hand gently on her shoulder, offering her support the only way he knows how. Upon feeling her hand, Catherine relaxes slightly and leans back into him. He uses this opportunity to speak.

"Catherine, I know you're upset, but you can't let Christina see that."

Catherine merely acknowledges his words with a nod as she does not quite trust her voice. She pulls away and goes over to the bed where her daughter is lying. She tentatively sits in the bedside chair and takes her daughter's hand. Upon feeling Catherine's hand on hers, Christina opens her eyes and glances around.

"Mama? Where am I?"

"Hey sweetie. You're in the hospital. You were attacked at the French Palace and…" 

Reality dawns on Chrissy's face as she remembers the events from earlier. "So it wasn't a bad dream?"

Catherine looks at her sadly. "No, I'm afraid it isn't."

Christina shuts her eyes as she begins to cry. As she cries harder, she struggles to catch her breath and starts coughing, causing excruciating pain from her broken ribs. She gets a death grip on Catherine's hand as she moans in agony. "Ahhh."

"Sweetie, just calm down. The harder you cry and the more you cough, the more damage you'll do."

"What exactly is wrong with me? I hurt like hell."

"Well, sweetie, you were beaten at the French Palace. The guy tried to kill you, but I guess he was interrupted, so you were fortunate. You…"

Catherine is interrupted by a knock on the door. She turns to see Sara entering the room with her CSI kit in hand. Catherine then turns to Gil, who reads her eyes and takes this as his cue to leave so that Sara can do her work without too much embarrassment for both Catherine and Christina. Sara walks over to stand next to Catherine at the side of the bed.

"Hey Christina. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. I hurt all over." She sees the kit in Sara's hand. "It was nice of you to come to check on me. I didn't mean to take you away from your work."

Sara looks at Catherine with a questioning look. Catherine just shakes her head 'no', letting Sara know that she hasn't yet had the chance to explain to Christina the whole situation. That earns her another questioning look from Sara, who silently asks if she should come back another time. Catherine answers that question by turning back to Christina.

"Chrissy, I need to talk to you…about the attack."

"Okay. What about it?"

"Well, your attacker, we believe, is the same person responsible for murdering all the other girls at the other clubs. You're the only one to survive."

Due to the attack and everything, it takes Christina a bit longer to process what her mother is saying to her, so she simply responds. "I see."

Catherine continues. "Your attacker followed the same pattern as with the other girls. He beat you and then he raped you."

Christina bites her lip at those words. "I was hoping that was just a bad dream."

Tears well up in Catherine's eyes as she shakes her head. "No, I'm afraid that it's true. Since CSI is investigating the murders, we have to collect evidence from you. That's why Sara's here. I was on the case, but now that you're a victim, I'm too close to it and Sara is taking over."

Sara finally speaks up. "Christina, I…"

"Call me Chrissy. That's what everyone else calls me."

"Okay, Chrissy, I'm going to have to get some evidence off of you and get some pictures. Is that okay with you?"

Chrissy looks from Sara to Catherine and back to Sara. "I guess so…but is it alright if my mom stays in the room?"

Catherine speaks up. "I want nothing more than to stay in the room, but if I am here while Sara collects evidence, someone can say that I contaminated it, so it's best that I step out. But I'll just be right outside."

Chrissy tears up as she nods. "Okay." She turns to Sara as Catherine leaves. "What exactly do you have to do?"

Sara pulls out her camera. "Well, I have to get some pictures of your injuries and I have to scrape under your nails, check your hair, perform a rape kit, and check your body for any other evidence that might help us find the person who did this to you." 

"I see."

Sara sees the fear in her eyes and tries to reassure her. "Chrissy, I promise I'll do this as quickly and gently as I can, but it may hurt a little."

"It's okay. I understand."

As Sara does her work, Catherine is in the waiting room with Gil.

"I should call my mother. I said I'd call once I knew more."

"Are you going to tell her about the baby?"

"Not yet. That's something that I want just between us for now. I don't want my mother or anyone else to know that doesn't have to until after I talk to Chrissy."

She pulls out her phone and dials her own house. After just one ring, Lily picks up.

"Hello?"

"Mom, it's Catherine. I just finished talking with the doctor."

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He said that Chrissy sustained severe injuries, but she should pull through."

"What kind of injuries?"

"Well, like I said earlier, her attacker beat her severely. That caused broken ribs and internal bruising and complications from the broken ribs. And you already know that he also raped her."

"I see. What I'd like to know is why Christina was working in a place like that to begin with."

"You and I both. She and I have a lot of talking to do, but my main concern right now is on getting her better and finding the bastard who did this." 

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Actually, we do. Gil and I were investigating a series of murders where someone beat and raped dancers at various clubs before killing them. We think it's the same person and that he was interrupted this time."

"Well, all I can say is that Christina is very lucky."

"I know. I should get back to her. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Before Lily can respond, Catherine hangs up the phone. She then goes back to Gil.

"Does Chrissy even know yet?"

"Know what?"

"That she's pregnant?"

"I don't know. I didn't get to ask her yet. I'm guessing that she doesn't since she didn't ask about the baby and the doctor said she isn't very far along."

"I see. How are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you holding up?"

Catherine glares at him. "My baby is lying in a hospital bed. She was raped and is covered in bruises and in pain…and I can't take that pain away. How the hell do you think I'm holding up?"

"I didn't mean to upset you. I know you're hurting seeing her like that, but I'm also worried about you. You don't have to be strong for me Catherine. I've been there for you through many hard times and I've seen you at your best and at your worst."

Before Catherine can respond, Sara emerges from Chrissy's room. "I'm all done in there. I collected what I needed and then asked her some questions, but she doesn't seem to remember much. I'll let her rest and maybe later she'll remember something." 

Catherine nods to acknowledge Sara's statement. "Thanks Sara."

Sara offers Catherine a kind smile. "No problem. If you need anything else, you can call me anytime."

"Thanks." She then turns to Gil. "You can leave if you want to . I'm going to stay with Chrissy tonight."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here."

Catherine impulsively hugs him. "I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you so much Gil."

He kisses her forehead. "Catherine, you know I'd do anything I can to help you."

She releases him and goes back into her daughter's room. She wants to talk to her, but finds that she is asleep. Instead, she pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed, holding her hand. After awhile, she finds herself getting tired. Before long, she is leaning forward fast asleep with her head resting on the bed. Gil becomes concerned about both Catherine and Christina and goes to peek in on them. He enters the room to find both of them asleep. He finds a blanket and covers Catherine with it and then pulls the other chair next to Catherine's. He keeps an eye on them as they sleep until he himself dozes off.

Catherine wakes a few hours later and finds Gil asleep next to her before turning her gaze to her still sleeping daughter. Upon feeling her stir, Gil also wakes up. He turns to her and sees her looking at Chrissy with a sad look.

"Cath, what's wrong?"

"I was just thinking…about when I was pregnant with her and when she was born."

Flashback to 1984

Catherine awoke and immediately the ritual started. The minute she lifted her head, she was overcome with nausea. After taking care of that need, she went into her closet to find something to wear…a task which was becoming harder since she was now 4 months pregnant and much of her clothes were very tight and some too small. After finding a pair of sweats, she puts those on…at least she could loosen the waist on those. She brushes her hair and turns to look at her now visible baby bump in the mirror.

Much had changed since that December day when she first learned that she was pregnant. For one, she had gone see a doctor and he told her exactly when she was due…August 28. She had also called her now ex-boyfriend, Ricky, to tell him that she was pregnant. He became furious and refused to have anything to do with her or the baby, and she hadn't seen him since.

Most importantly, though, she and her mother had finally sat down to discuss what her intentions were concerning the baby. She had immediately decided that she couldn't have an abortion. She just couldn't bring herself to do that. That left only the options of giving the baby up for adoption or raising the baby. After a serious discussion and some tears, Catherine had decided to keep the baby. Lily wasn't immediately keen on the idea…after all, she still had Nancy to think about. But she also knew that Catherine was scared and needed all the support that she could get, so she vowed to stand by her oldest daughter no matter what. Catherine's older brother, Jude, had immediately flipped out and sworn that he'd kill Ricky for touching his little sister, but he had gradually calmed down and sworn to support Catherine's decision…and it was set…at the tender age of 16, Catherine was going to be a mother.

Her pregnancy was progressing normally, much to her relief. She had been told that sometimes girls who were pregnant as early as she was had problems with their pregnancies. Additionally, after the initial shock of learning of the pregnancy wore off, she found herself fascinated by the thought of motherhood…especially after the first time she felt the baby kick. Before then, it almost seemed like a dream to her. But after that first kick, she realized that she had a living being inside of her, a being totally dependent on her for survival…and she felt love for that being. To be sure, insecurity remained, but she also was beginning to feel…maternal. After checking herself in the mirror, she heads downstairs to join her mother and sister for breakfast. After breakfast, they all get into the car and head toward Nancy's friend's house. After dropping Nancy off, Lily and Catherine take off, heading for a little boutique that sells maternity clothing. They buy a few things there before heading to another store. At the end of the day, they pick Nancy up and head home, where Nancy, being absolutely fascinated by Catherine's pregnancy, asks her to model the clothes for her. Catherine obliges her younger sister and agrees. Lily begins preparing dinner as the two girls go up to Catherine's room for the impromptu fashion show.

Throughout the rest of her pregnancy, Catherine feels more and more protective of her baby. She tries her best to adhere to the instructions of her doctor and to exercise and get as much rest as possible to ensure a healthy baby. Everything progresses smoothly until early August. Despite not being due until the end of the month, Catherine begins to have contractions. Lily assures her that they are just Braxton-Hicks. Of course, Lily was right and Catherine calms down some…but not much as she is now starting to worry about delivering the baby. She had heard that it was painful, but she knows that she doesn't want a needle in her back, and so she had decided already that she was going to have a natural childbirth.

The Braxton-Hicks continued up until August 16. That day, everything changed. Catherine wakes up at 3am with very strong contractions. She tries to assure herself that she is just having more Braxton-Hicks, but the contractions continue and only get stronger. She decides to get her mother up to take her to the hospital just in case these aren't Braxton-Hicks. As she is walking to her mother's room, she feels a splash at her feet. She glances down and sees that her water has broken. She looks up in panic as she calls out for her mother.

"MOM!!!!"

Lily and Nancy both are startled out of a deep sleep as they hear Catherine screaming. Both come running out of their rooms at the same time, but Lily speaks first.

"Catherine, what's wrong?"

"My water just broke."

"Are you sure, honey?"

"Yes I'm sure. I started having contractions and at first I thought they were false alarms, but they just got stronger. I was coming to get you and I felt something wet and I looked and saw that it was my water."

It takes Lily a minute to process everything. Then it dawns on her.

"You're in labor?!?!"

Catherine can only nod as another contraction grips her. Lily goes over to her as she sinks to her knees from the pain.

"How far apart are they?"

"About 2 minutes."

"Let's get you to the hospital right now. Nancy, Catherine has a bag in her closet that she packed for this occasion. After you get dressed, grab it."

Nancy hurries to do as her mother told her. Meanwhile, Lily rushes into her own room to dress and then hurries back into the hallway. She helps Catherine to stand and slowly walks with her to the door. Nancy finishes her assigned task and hurries to open the car for her mother and her sister. She unlocks Catherine's door first and helps her into the car as her mother gets in and then she herself jumps into the back seat. Lily is about to back out of the driveway when Nancy stops her.

"Mom wait!"

"What is it?"

"We forgot to call Jude. He should know too."

"We can't wait…you can call him from the hospital."

With that, Lily backs out of the driveway and goes as fast as she can to the hospital. When they get there, Lily helps Catherine out of the car and into the hospital, where she leads her to the registration desk. The woman looks up at the sound of Catherine moaning in pain.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"My daughter is in labor. She's 38 weeks pregnant."

The woman immediately grabs a wheel chair and instructs Catherine to sit. She then pages a nurse who comes out and wheels the young girl to the back with Lily not far behind. They get her situated in the exam room and then go to get the OB/GYN that is on call. He rushes in and much to Catherine's relief, it is her normal doctor. He immediately begins examining her. As he finishes up, he looks at Catherine with a smile.

"Well, you're already dilated 5 centimeters. I'd say that within the next 4-5 hours you should be holding your baby. You're very lucky…some people are in labor for more than a day when they are delivering their first child."

"Four to five hours? Can't you just yank it out of me? This is sheer torture."

The doctor smiles at her. "I'll be back to check on you in an hour. Hang in there, Catherine."

Once the doctor leaves, Lily sits next to Catherine. Catherine immediately reaches out and grabs her hand. Lily turns to look at her and sees tears streaming down her face.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm so scared. What if I have the baby and I don't know how to be a mother? What if I end up ruining both our lives? What if I made a mistake deciding to have this baby?"

"Catherine, you will be a great mother. I've seen how you were so careful in what you ate and how you moved around to make sure that you didn't do anything to harm the baby. I felt the same way when I had each of you, but the minute I looked down into that little face, I knew that I'd do anything to ensure that each of my babies grew up happy and healthy."

"But what if-"

"Catherine, don't torture yourself with 'what ifs'. It will all be fine. Now, try to rest to get your strength up for the delivery. It will be tiring, but I promise it will be well worth it."

The next hours seem like an eternity to Catherine as the doctor comes in and out to monitor her progress. Finally after 4 hours, the doctor announces that Catherine is fully dilated and is ready to deliver her baby. They wheel her into the delivery room with Lily and Nancy not far behind. The doctor gets in position at the foot of the bed while Lily and Nancy take up positions on each side of Catherine.

"Now Catherine, when you feel the next contraction, I want you to bear down and push through it. You can relax when it subsides. Understand?"

Catherine merely nods as the contraction hits her. She bites down and screams as she pushes as hard as she can. Once it is over, she lays back to catch her breath.

"Shit, what am I giving birth to? A giant watermelon?"

Lily wipes her daughter's face. "That's what it feels like, but it's not."

Catherine feels another contraction starting and she readies herself to push again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"

Her efforts are rewarded as the doctor updates her on the progress.

"And the baby is now crowning. Would you like to feel?"

Catherine nods and the doctor takes her hand guiding it down to feel her baby's head emerging from her. This seems to give her strength as she feels another contraction and prepares to push.

"Alright, now breathe through this contraction and when I tell you, I need you to give me a really big push so we can get the shoulders free."

Catherine breathes through the contraction then sits up and prepares to push.

"Alright, push!"

Catherine pushes as hard as she can, screaming in pain the whole time.

"Alright, relax for a few moments."

She relaxes and catches her breath.

"Push!!"

She once again bears down and pushes with all of her strength. This time, she is rewarded by the sound of a 'pop'. She does not realize what it is, though, and begins to panic.

"Is my baby okay? What was that sound?"

Her mother offers her a reassuring smile. "The baby is fine. That sound was the sound of the shoulders coming out."

"Your mother is right. We have the shoulders out. Now all we need from you is a few more big pushes and you can hold your baby."

Catherine nods. "When should I push?" 

"Wait until I tell you."

"Okay."

The doctor lets Catherine rest through the next contraction. Once that one is over, he instructs her to push with the next one. As it hits her, she pushes with all of her might and the rest of the body comes out as the baby is officially born. Everyone present is immediately greeted by the sound of the baby screaming.

"Congratulations, Catherine. It's a girl."

Tears start streaming down her face as she looks for the first time upon her screaming daughter. The doctor cleans her up and hands her to the nurse to weigh her.

"And she weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces. Quite a healthy little girl, I must say."

The nurse then hands her, still screaming, over to Catherine. Upon feeling her mother's arms around her, the baby immediately calms down. Catherine continues to cry tears of joy as she looks down at her new daughter. When she looks up at Lily and Nancy, she finds that they too are crying. Lily finds her voice first and asks the question that is on the mind of everyone present.

"So, what is her name?"

"Well, I thought about a lot of different names. But I think Christina…Christina Anne."

End Flashback


	5. Chapter 5

Gil decides to let Catherine handle the victim as he figured she'd be more comfortable with a female CSI, given that the M

Catherine looks at Gil with tears in her eyes.

"She was such a beautiful baby. So sweet, so innocent. I vowed at the moment I looked at her that I would always be there to protect her…and that she'd always have everything. But then reality set in and I had to find a job. That's when I found that I could get really good money with my body. I wasn't proud of myself…hell, I did coke to get through many nights. And I'd come home and see Chrissy asleep and I swore that she'd never go through what I was going through…she'd never have to put herself out there the way I was. I surely didn't want to be in the position I was in…taking my clothes off for ogling men, doing drugs, having two kids by that time AND in a crappy marriage to Eddie. Those days were hell, though I didn't quite know it at the time until I finally got out of it…went to school and became a CSI. Then I finally got the nerve to end my marriage to Eddie and try to make life better for my girls."

Gil, who has been sitting and listening intently nods. "I do have one question though. How come Chrissy's last name is Willows?"

"Well, she initially had my last name and then when I met Eddie, he was there for me and for her. He seemed so different…he seemed to care for both of us and didn't see me as a horrible person for having a kid. When he and I actually got married, he asked if it would be okay to give Christina his name. I guess I wanted her to actually have a Dad…since her real father wanted nothing to do with either of us. So, I let Eddie give her his name and she became Christina Willows."

"Ah, I see." Gil tentatively puts his arm around her. Catherine leans in and finally gives in fully to the emotion that is upon her.

"Oh Gil, it's all my fault. If I had been a better mother…if I had been there…if I had been a better CSI and caught that bastard earlier, Chrissy wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed hurt."

Gil faces her. "Catherine, it is NOT your fault. It is no one's fault except that creep."

"But WHY was she working there? Why?"

"I don't know. I think the only person who does know that is Christina. I'm sure she has her reasons."

"What is so important that she has to resort to taking her clothes off for strange men? I want to know!!"

Gil shakes her shoulders. "Catherine, you need to calm down. You are not helping Christina right now. I know you have questions, but for now, you need to focus on taking care of her and getting her better. And you also need to be there for Lindsay. She may not understand the extent of what happened, but she will know that her sister is hurt and she will see the physical marks left by Christina's attacker."

"I totally forgot about Lindsay. I'm sure she's going to be wondering where Chrissy is, especially when she sees my mom there." She goes to the phone in the room. "I'm going to call my neighbor to see if she can take Lindsay so my mom can come. I'm sure she's pacing back and forth right now."

Catherine dials her neighbor, Mrs. Anderson, and explains the situation. She then calls her house and tells Lily that Mrs. Anderson is going to take care of Lindsay and Lily tells her that she will be at the hospital as soon as possible. Catherine then goes back to Christina's bedside to continue her vigil. Gil can't think of anything to say, so he just remains at Catherine's side. After a few minutes, she looks over at Gil.

"You should go. I'll be fine."

Gil looks at Catherine with a mixture of concern and care for her in his eyes. "Catherine, you are my friend…my confidant. I care very much for you and Christina. She is very special to me too. I do not want to be anywhere but here with you and her."

"But Gil-"

"I am staying. You will not be able to convince me otherwise."

Catherine smiles slightly. "Thanks, Gil. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't been there."

Gil simply responds by putting his arm around her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. The two stay in this position until a voice at the door interrupts them.

"Is Christina okay?"

Both jump slightly as they turn around to see Lily standing there.

"Mom, you scared me."

"Sorry, Catherine. So, is my granddaughter okay?"

Catherine sighs. "She's going to be okay. She has a lot of healing to do, but she shouldn't have any permanent scars." 'Except maybe for a baby', Catherine thinks.

"That's good to know. So, why does she have all of this hooked up to her?"

"Well, the chest tube is to get the blood out from around her lungs and to allow her to breathe normally and let her lung recover. And then there's the broken arm and leg."

"Ah, I see. How is she doing emotionally?"

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk yet. They have her on a lot of pain medication, so she's mainly been sleeping."

"So you didn't get to find out why she was working at the French Palace?"

Catherine sighs impatiently. "No, Mom, I didn't. Quite honestly, right now I am not concerned with why she was working there. I am just concerned with getting her through this ordeal and helping her recover. So, how is Lindsay?"

"She's okay. She asked me where Christina was and why she wasn't there."

"And what did you tell her?"

"I said that Chrissy had to take care of something and on her way there, she got hurt, but she was going to be alright. She wanted to come with me, but I said that they wouldn't let her in. So she said to tell Chrissy that she hopes she feels better and that loves her and that she can't wait for her to come home."

"I'm sure that Chrissy will appreciate that."

Both are a bit startled when they hear Christina stirring. "I do appreciate that. I didn't mean to leave Lindsay all alone."

Lily turns to her oldest granddaughter. "Christina Anne, what on earth were you doing going to a place like the French Palace, let alone working there?"

Before Christina can answer, Catherine jumps in. "Mom, now is not the time or the place for this discussion. There will be plenty of time for us to all talk this out. Right now, we need to focus on getting Chrissy better."

"Did the doctor tell you anything else?"

"No, sweetie, he hasn't made his rounds yet. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Christina grimaces. "I hope so."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"I'm nauseas. I was just wondering if it is normal."

Lily, who still has no clue that she is pregnant, immediately reassures her. "I'm sure it is. You're probably just feeling the effects of all the medications that they have you on."

"You're probably right, Grandma."

A few moments later, there is a knock on the door and the doctor enters.

"Hi, Christina. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling okay…I'm still sore and right now, I'm kind of nauseas. Is that normal?"

"Yes, it is. It's just your body reacting to the medications you are on combined with the baby."

Catherine's eyes go wide as the looks at Lily, whose eyes are just as wide. Christina looks very confused.

"Baby? What do you mean?"

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"You're about five weeks pregnant. We discovered that when you were brought in. Right now, both you and the baby appear to be doing well. We're going to keep monitoring that, though."

Her eyes go wide as her jaw drops in shock. "I'm pregnant?"

The doctor looks sheepishly at Catherine. "I'm sorry. I thought she knew."

Catherine smiles slightly at him. "It's okay. We didn't know for sure if she knew or not."

"Of course I didn't know I was pregnant. I'd have at least asked about the baby when I woke up."

The doctor goes over to the bedside. "Christina, I'm going to have a look at your chest tube to make sure that it is draining properly as well as check your other wounds."

She shifts to where she is lying flat on her back so that the doctor can see her chest tube well.

"Well, the tube is draining well. Depending on how your breathing sounds, we might be able to remove this within the next few days."

"Good. I sleep on that side but I can't right now because of that tube."

The doctor then helps her sit up so he can check her breathing and make sure that everything else is also healing well.

"Well, from my standpoint, you appear to be healing well. I've asked an OB/GYN to come in and have a look at you to make sure that there is minimal damage from the actual rape as well as to check and make sure that the baby is still doing well."

As if on cue, as soon as the doctor makes this statement, there is another knock on the door and another doctor enters.

"Hi, Christina. I'm Dr. Baldwin. Dr. Katz as asked me to come and check on you to make sure that there is no damage from the rape that was missed in earlier exams."

Catherine turns to Lily. "Mom, let's step out to give Christina some privacy."

Lily scoffs but agrees. "We'll be right outside."

Once they are gone, Dr. Baldwin turns back to Chrissy. "This may hurt a little, but I'll try to be as gentle as I can."

He helps her to get settled and does the examination as quickly as he can. "Well, it looks like your attacker did nothing more physically than inflicting some tissue damage…but nothing permanent. Now let's check on the baby."

He hooks her up to a fetal heart monitor and listens closely to the baby's heart rate. "The baby's heart is still beating a little erratically, but I imagine that's due to the trauma you endured. That is something we'll have to keep an eye on during your pregnancy if it doesn't correct itself. But it's not really something that we can't handle."

With the exam concluded, Dr. Baldwin cleans up and exits the room to confer once again with Dr. Katz. Both men soon return with Catherine and Lily not far behind.

"Well, you appear to be healing very well, Christina. If you take it easy, we can send you home in a couple of days."

"That would be great…to recover in my own house."

"Like Dr. Baldwin said, though, we will need to keep an eye on your pregnancy to make sure that everything is alright so you will have plenty of appointments to check your progress."

"I understand."

"Good, we'll let you rest and check in on you tomorrow."

When they leave, Catherine turns to Lily. "Mom, why don't you go pick Lindsay up? I'll stay here with Christina and I'll call you in the morning."

"Alright then. Goodnight Catherine." She goes over to Christina's bed and kisses her forehead. "Goodnight Chrissy."

The next day, both Dr. Baldwin and Dr. Katz come by again and give their approval for Christina to go home. Gil volunteers to drive Catherine and Christina home while Lily and Lindsay remain at home to prepare for Christina's arrival. When they arrive home, Gil and Catherine help Christina into the house and to her room. They get her settled in and then Gil leaves to get some rest before he has to go to work. Catherine, who has been cleared from work for the next week to take care of Christina, escorts him to the door.

"Catherine, just call me if you need anything…anytime and I'll be here."

"Thanks, Gil. Keep me posted on the investigation. I know I can't work on it…but I want to know how it's going."

"I will. Just take care of Christina and yourself. I'll be by after my shift."

As he turns to go, Catherine grabs his arm. She tentatively steps forward and kisses his cheek. "Thanks for everything. I don't know what I'd have done without you."

Gil pulls her into his arms. She instinctively leans into him and puts her head on his shoulder.

"Catherine, I have come to care very much for you and your daughters in the time that I have known you. I'd do anything for any of you. I hope you know just how much you all mean to me."

She looks up into his eyes and can see care and concern and love. "And I hope you know how much you mean to me." She leans in and kisses him again, this time on the lips. "See you after work."

Gil opens the door and leaves. Catherine shuts the door behind him and turns to find Lily waiting.

"Let's go check on Chrissy."

Lily nods and follows her up the stairs. When they enter her room, Christina looks up at them and begins to speak.

"Mom, Grandma, I had no idea. I'm sorry. I don't know how-"

Catherine raises her hand, signaling for silence. "Christina, I think we need to talk. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Christina bites her lip, something she does when she knows that she is in trouble. "Where do you want me to begin?"

"How about you start by explaining how and when you started working at the French Palace?"

"We're going straight to the hard questions, huh? I was hoping we'd start off with something a bit easier."

Catherine raises her eyebrows, something which normally can be interpreted many ways. This time, though, the meaning is crystal clear to Christina. This time, that looks means disbelief mixed with anger.

"Easier?! Christina, there is nothing easy about this. I left for work this evening and left you…my **sixteen year-old** daughter…in charge. I knew you had that teenage rebelliousness, but deep down, I thought that was the only thing. In just a few hours, I find out that you are not who I thought you were. I found out that you snuck out to go to your secret job as a stripper where you were raped and beaten by a creep that I am trying to catch for murdering other girls and young women at other clubs. Then, as if that weren't bad enough, I find out that you are also pregnant. So, you tell me where we can start that will not involve hard questions."

"I…I can't."

"That's what I thought. So, back to the question…how and when did you start working at the French Palace?"

"The truth? Alright here it is."

Catherine and Lily each take their seat as Christina begins to explain her secret life to them.

"I started working at the French Palace a year ago."

Lily says nothing, merely raising her eyebrows, while Catherine gasps in shock. "A year?!"

Christina merely nods. "It was a little after I started dating Rocky."

"And I forbade you to see him."

"Yeah, and I didn't listen. I care deeply about Rocky. Anyway, you weren't home one night, as usual, and I wanted to have some fun. Rocky and I went to a party with some of his friends. After I had some drinks, they convinced me to dance for them. Before long, I was doing a strip tease for everyone there. Rocky said I had something and he suggested I put it to good use, so I went to the French Palace for an audition. I told the guy I was 18 and had a fake ID to prove it. I auditioned and they loved me. They did say I looked like you, Cat I mean, and so I became Kitten."

"So you mean to tell me that you started stripping at FIFTEEN?! Christina, I can't believe you!!"

Chrissy winces at the sound of Catherine yelling. "I…I guess so."

"No, you don't guess. You did…you were fifteen a year ago…and you said you'd been at the French Palace for a year…unless you have been there for longer than that."

"I was fifteen."

Lily finally gets a word in edgewise. "Do you have any idea how much you've hurt us? Why do you have to follow in your mother's foot steps? Didn't you see how hard it was…how hard it still is…for her?"

"Grandma, I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I swear. I was just having fun."

"Fun?!"

Catherine turns to Lily. "Mom, I think Christina and I need to discuss this alone. Would you please excuse us?"

"I need to tend to Lindsey anyway."

Once Lily is gone, Catherine turns back to Christina. "Continue. You were stripping for fun."

"Yes, it was fun to dance. Then once I actually started dancing and all of those men came to see me dance and gave me all that money, I couldn't stop."

"Couldn't or didn't want to?"

"I guess it's a bit of both. I mean, I loved having all that money. I was able to get the things I always wanted but you never gave me. At the same time, I was one of the most popular dancers and I felt that I couldn't leave…I didn't want to disappoint the patrons or Rocky."

Catherine, who has drifted back to her own dancing days at the mention of the popularity and the money snaps back to reality at the mention of Rocky's name. "Rocky? Did he force you to go into dancing?"

"Mom, no. Of course not. He suggested it but he said that if I wasn't cool with it that I didn't have to. I wanted to. Rocky may be a tough guy but he's not a total creep."

"Yeah, well that's debatable."

"MOM!! That's not fair!! You don't even know him!! Now do you want to hear the rest of this or not?"

"Christina Anne Willows, don't you dare take that tone with me. I am your mother!! And yes, I do want to hear the rest of the story."

"Like I said, I didn't want to stop and in a way I felt like I couldn't. I guess you can say it was addicting."

Catherine nods at that statement. "It can be…when I was dancing, I got such a thrill from all of the men cheering for me. I felt special…at least while I was on the stage. And when I'd come home to you and Lindsey, I knew that I could feed you for another day or another week if the tips were really good. At the same time, I felt depressed and ashamed. I don't know if you knew this, but I did use drugs for awhile. It's not something I'm proud of, but it helped me cope with the emotions I had to face when I felt guilty about my dancing or when Eddie had a little too much to drink and greeted me with his fist. But I eventually realized that it was not worth my dignity and self-respect. And I didn't want to OD on anything and leave you and Lindsey at the mercy of Eddie. Christina, I guess what I'm saying is that dancing really isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Well, that's your opinion. I do enjoy it."

Catherine sighs. "I guess we'll agree to disagree right now."

"So, does that mean it's okay if I keep dancing?"

"Definitely not. You are just sixteen years old. If I really wanted to make an issue out of it, I could press charges against the French Palace for not checking well enough into your background and for exploitation of a minor."

Disbelief crosses Christina's features. "Mom, please don't. They didn't know. I had false ID to prove it."

"I said that I COULD, but I won't. Now that you've been attacked, I'm sure your real age will come out and they won't let you dance there anyway."

"Can they do that? It's not like I am nude or anything. I just don't have all that much on."

"Christina, I think that you have more important things to worry about than whether or not you'll be able to keep dancing. Maybe by then you'll be 17 and legally able to dance. It will take awhile for you to recover and I don't think you'll be up for climbing a pole. And probably by that point, you'll be too big to dance anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"In case you've forgotten, you ARE pregnant. Which leads to the next question. Are you also prostituting?"

"NO, of course I'm not prostituting."

Despite the tone of Chrissy's voice, Catherine breathes a sigh of relief. She realizes, though, that her relief is just short-lived.

"I don't take money for sex. If I want to screw a guy, I just go ahead and screw him."

"Also, speaking of Rocky, how do you think he'll react when he learns he's going to be a father?"

"If he's the father, I'm sure he'll be there for me."

"What do you mean 'if'? Don't you know?"

Christina's voice is barely a whisper. "I'm not sure. The timing is kinda close."

"Who else could be the father?"

Christina says nothing, choosing instead to examine her bedspread more closely.

"Christina, I asked you a question. Who else have you slept with that could be the father of your baby?"

"I…I'm not sure. Around when I got pregnant, I slept with Rocky and a few nights, after I finished dancing for the night, I slept with some guys from the club."

"What guys?"

"Just some guys who came to the club and who paid for me to give them a private dance. After I got off of work, I went back to their hotel and we drank and had sex."

"Who are they? Where do they live?"

"I don't know who they are. They were on a business trip from Colorado. I think one of them might've been married."

"WHAT?! You mean to tell me that you had a random fling with some married guys one night and that it was around the time that you got pregnant so you don't know who the father of your baby is?"

Christina merely nods.

"How many people have you slept with?"

"Including boyfriends?"

"Yes, including boyfriends. How many people have you slept with?"

"I…I don't know. I mean, there's Rocky and those guys from the club that night…that's four right there. Plus the other times I've gone home with a guy from the club plus the parties…maybe twenty or thirty."

Catherine's eyes bulge. "Thirty men? In how much time?"

"Rocky was my first."

"So, you've slept with thirty men in a year?"

Christina nods as Catherine starts crying.

"Christina, I can't believe. Wow, I didn't expect this. I feel like I don't even know you. Thirty men? Please tell me you've been tested."

Christina shakes her head.

"So, you've slept with thirty men, you're pregnant, and you don't know if you have any STDs. I…I'm going to be sick."

"Mom, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please don't cry."

"I can't help it. You're my first baby and here I find out all of these things about you." She bolts for the door. "I gotta get out of here. I'll check on you later."

She flies out of the room leaving Christina alone to her thoughts. Christina for her part looks like she has been punched as realization dawns on her. She is sixteen, pregnant, and clueless as to the identity of her baby's father. She hopes with everything in her that Rocky is the father, but deep in her gut, she knows that there is a high chance that he is not. Fear and anxiety overwhelm her as she lays back and sobs.


	6. Chapter 6

After leaving Christina's room, Catherine hurries to her own room and throws herself on the bed, where she finally breaks down. She keeps thinking back to Christina's statement from a few moments earlier that she'd been with thirty men. As she keeps thinking about that, she cries harder and harder as her heart breaks for Christina. She finally finds a voice as she looks up and starts questioning.

"Where did I go wrong as a mother? Was I really that bad? Why is this happening? Why my daughter?"

As the questions spill out, Catherine gives in to the emotions and lies back down and cries until she can't cry anymore. She just lays there in a daze, not even noticing Lindsey coming into the room until she feels her little hands around her neck.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

Catherine jumps slightly. "Lindsey! You scared me."

"I'm sorry Mommy. I heard you crying. Why are you sad?"

Catherine, despite tears flowing freely down her face, tries to offer a smile to reassure the little girl. "Well, as a Mommy, it makes you sad when your child is hurt."

"Christina's hurted bad?"

"Yes, baby. Some bad person hurt Christina."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. Some people just like to hurt other people. They are just very bad and they don't care about anyone. Understand?"

Lindsey tilts her head. "I think so. But why did he take Chrissy from here and not take me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I woke up, Mrs. Anderson was in my room. I asked for Chrissy and she said Chrissy was hurt. Then Grandma got there and told me that a bad person hurt Chrissy. When I went to sleep, Chrissy was here. She saw a movie with me."

Catherine freezes up for a moment, not quite sure how to explain things to her without having to explain things to her that she definitely is not ready to hear at her young age.

"Mommy?"

"Um, well, Chrissy wanted to make some extra money and show me that she was a big girl so she took a job at night without telling me. That's where she was when the bad person hurt her."

Lindsey tilts her head once again. "So she left me alone?"

Catherine nods. "She always locked the door and make sure you were safe in bed first."

"What was she doing for work, Mommy?"

"Do you remember how Mommy was a ballerina when you were just a little girl?"

"When you were Cat?"

"Yes, when I was Cat."

"I don't remember that well, but I remember you and Daddy talking about it."

"Well, Chrissy is a ballerina like Mommy was."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, do you have anymore questions?"

"I think that's it. But I need to talk to Chrissy. Can I go see her?"

"I think she'd like that. But you can only go for a little while because she is still hurt."

"Okay, Mommy."

Catherine turns and faces the wall as Lindsey goes from her room down the hall to Christina's. When she gets to the door, she knocks quietly.

"Come in."

She opens the door slowly. "Chrissy?"

"Yeah, Shorty?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, come on in."

Lindsey walks slowly into the room, making sure to shut the door behind her. Christina moves slightly, despite her pain, to make room for her little sister on the bed.

"You can sit. I won't break."

Instead of going over to the bed, Lindsey merely shakes her head.

"What's wrong, Shorty?"

Lindsey looks up at Christina with sad and confused eyes, much like she had looked at Catherine when Eddie had moved out.

"Chrissy, why did you leave me all alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mommy said that you were at work when you got hurted."

"That's 'hurt'. So Mommy told you I was working?"

"Uh-huh. She said you are a ballerina like she was before she went to work with Uncle Gil."

Christina silently lets out the breath she was holding. "That's right."

"I like ballerinas. I woulda wanted to see you. Why did you leave me alone Chrissy? I was scared when Mrs. Anderson waked me up and I didn't know where you were. And then Grandma told me you got hurted…hurt…and I was even scareder."

As Lindsey starts crying, Chrissy reaches out a hand for her. "Come here, Shorty."

"No!!!"

"Shorty, look at me…please."

Lindsey looks up at her. "What?"

"I want you to sit next to me. I'm sorry that I left you alone. That was very bad of me. I promise I won't do it again. You do believe me?"

"I guess so."

"Good, now come sit."

"But…but what if I hurt you?"

"You won't hurt me. It's okay. I'll show you what to do."

Lindsey goes over to her and stands right next to the bed. "Now what?"

"Sit right here." Christina pats a spot on the bed.

Lindsey sits slowly, afraid that if she moves too fast that she'll hurt Christina more. Once she is fully seated, she looks at Christina.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Of course not, Shorty. Now, I want you to give me a hug. Just come slowly and don't squeeze too hard."

Lindsey does just want she says, except in slow motion. When she pulls back and sees that Chrissy is not hurt, she smiles slightly.

"See, I told you."

"What did the bad man do to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Mommy said he hurt you but I don't know how."

"He just hit me a lot."

"Like Daddy did to Mommy?"

Chrissy looks at her. "Yep, like Daddy did to Mommy."

Lindsey looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry he hurt you." She goes over and touches a bruise on Chrissy's face. She then kisses it.

"That's what Mommy does with me when I fall off my bike."

"I know. That makes me feel so much better. But I'm really sleepy, so I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay. See you later."

Lindsey runs out of Chrissy's room and goes downstairs.

Once the door shuts behind Lindsey, Christina breathes a sigh of relief, thankful that Catherine did not reveal everything to Lindsey about her job…or the fact that she was going to make Lindsey an aunt at her young age. Soon, her exhaustion from the entire ordeal catches up with her and she drifts off to sleep, her hand protectively on her still flat stomach.

After calming down somewhat, Catherine goes back to Christina's room to check on her. When she knocks, she gets no response. Slowly, she opens the door and finds Chrissy sound asleep with her hand resting protectively on her belly, which has yet to show signs of life growing inside of her. Rather than disturb her, despite the need she feels to continue their previous discussion, Catherine gently tucks the covers in around her, kisses her forehead, and leaves the room quietly. She goes downstairs to check on Lindsey and finds that she too is asleep. She places a cover on her as Lily walks in.

"She was watching cartoons one minute and the next she was sound asleep."

"I guess everything that's going on with Christina is taking its toll on Lindsey too."

"It really does, Catherine. She may just be a little kid, but she knows there's something more going on than what we're telling her."

"I know, Mom, but I can't exactly tell her the whole truth. She's just a little girl." She sighs as tears rise to her eyes and a sob threatens to wretch itself from her throat. "I don't know what to do. I mean, Lindsey came in and asked me why the bad man didn't take her when he took Chrissy. I told her that Chrissy was at work and then she asked me what Chrissy did for work. I told her that Chrissy was a ballerina like I used to be…I didn't know what else to say."

"I think you handled it right."

"Thanks, I needed to hear that."

"So, what's next?"

"I don't really know, to be honest. Christina and I have a lot of talking to do."

"What did she tell you after I came down here?"

"Some very hard things-things I'm not quite ready to share nor am I ready to face the reality of what she told me. I just know that many hard conversations are on the horizon."

"I can only imagine. I remember having some very hard conversations with you when you were that age."

'Mom, can I ask you a favor? Can you let Lindsey stay with you for a few days? I need to deal with some things with Chrissy and it's best if it's just the two of us. I don't want this to affect Lindsey any more than it already has."

"And why are you being so secretive?"

"I just need to deal with this on my own for now. I promise to fill you in…all in good time."

"Oh, alright. I hope you know that I'm not your enemy."

"I know that, thanks Mom."

"And yes, I'll keep Lindsey as long as you need me to."

"Thanks Mom."

"Lily goes upstairs to pack a bag for Lindsey. Once she is done, she goes out to the car while Catherine gets Lindsey up and explains to her that she is going to stay with Lily for a few days so that she and Chrissy can have some mother-daughter time and Chrissy can rest without Lindsey having to worry about hurting her. She lets Lindsey go upstairs and give Chrissy a hug before she leaves. Lindsey does it just as Chrissy showed her earlier and smiles when she sees that Chrissy didn't wake up, much less get hurt from the hug. She then goes back downstairs to where Lily is waiting for her.

"Ready to go?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright then, let's go. We're going to have fun this week." Lily turns to Catherine. "I'll call you in the morning to check on Chrissy. Take care of yourself and call me if you need me."

"I will. Bye Mom. Bye Lindsey."

Lily and Lindsey leave as Catherine goes over to the couch to try to collect her thoughts. She buries her face in her hands as her tears threaten to resurface. There is so much that she needs to know, but she has no clue as to how to even begin getting the information out of Christina. She thinks back to her own conversations with Lily when she herself was that age and she finally realizes that all that time Lily did have her best interests at heart. She shakes her head and laughs to herself. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she'd see eye to eye with her mother. After a brief chuckle, Catherine pulls herself back to the situation at hand…Christina and how she got herself into the situation she was in…16, pregnant, and the victim of a serial killer, a victim who happened to survive.

"Where do I begin? How can I just go in there and not be affected by what she told me. My baby has this secret life and I had no clue. What kind of mother am I?"

She is pulled from her self-questioning by the sound of her phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Catherine, it's me, Gil."

"Hi Gil. What's up?" 

"Nothing. I just had a break and wanted to call and check on you and Chrissy."

"Chrissy's sleeping. She's still very tired."

"Ah and how is Lindsey?"

"Mom took her to her house to spend a few days so that I can sort some things out with Chrissy." 

"What kin of things?"

"Things I never thought I'd hear my sixteen year-old daughter admit to."

"Such as?"

"Well, she's been dancing since she was fifteen."

"FIFTEEN?!?!"

"Yep, not long after I initially forbade her to see Rocky."

"Really? Is he the one who forced her to dance?"

"She says no. She said he suggested it, but didn't force her to."

"Oh, sure. I don't buy it. Anyway, does he know he's going to be a father?"

"It most likely isn't his."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been with other men."

"So, it could be a classmate?"

"No, another man…one of many other men from what she told me."

"How many?"

"I'm not sure, but since she has been with Rocky – he's her first – she's been with about thirty men. In ONE YEAR, THIRTY MEN!"

Grissom says nothing for a moment, clearly in shock.

"Grissom? Please say something."

"I…I never would have suspected. How are you handling it?"

"Alright, I guess. She and I still have some talking to do."

"I see. Well, I should get back to work. I'll call you when I'm done here."

"Can you come over after work…I…I need you."

"Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Catherine hangs up the phone and goes back upstairs to check on Chrissy. When she gets to her room, she finds her waking up. Upon hearing her door open, Chrissy opens her eyes.

"Hey Mom."

"Catherine fights her emotions as she speaks.

"How are you feeling?" 

"I still hurt."

"Well, that will continue for awhile."

"Yeah. Um…Mom…about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just being honest."

"I'm glad you were. I want us to be able to communicate."

"Me too."

"Christina, tell me something. How can you have slept with that many men in one year?"

Christina sighs as she realizes another difficult conversation is at hand. "Well, there's Rocky, the constant. When I'm not working, I go to parties with Rocky…sometimes without him…and we play games and get drunk and wake up with random people. Then, there's the men who come to the club who want a good time. They are willing to spend lots of money for some girls to party with them, so I usually volunteer. It's an easy way to make good money."

Catherine's hand goes up to her mouth as she has to fight her stomach again.

"They pay you to party?"

"Yeah."

"How do you manage that? I mean, I never suspected a thing."

"I'd sneak out around 10pm and sneak back in around 4am to crash before going to school. Or I'd go to school for show then cut and come back home to sleep before I had to work again."

"I see. Well, you ARE my daughter. I was the same way when I was Cat."

"Mom, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know you didn't. And I still love you no matter what. It's just hard to digest."

"I love you too."

Catherine gently hugs her. As she does so, she glances down at Chrissy's back, where her tank top has ridden up, revealing a butterfly tattoo. Catherine's eyes bulge as she recognizes the tattoo as one that one of the groups of hookers has. Her voice trembles as she speaks.

"Christina, what's this tattoo?"


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I know this chapter is kind of short. I'm a little blocked as to how to proceed. Any suggestions and feedback is welcome.

LilKass

Previously…

Catherine gently hugs her. As she does so, she glances down at Chrissy's back, where her tank top has ridden up, revealing a butterfly tattoo. Catherine's eyes bulge as she recognizes the tattoo as one that one of the groups of hookers has. Her voice trembles as she speaks.

"Christina, what's this tattoo?

Chrissy's hand shoots up to pull the tank top down?

"Tattoo?"

"Yes, the butterfly on your back. Where did you get it?"

"Uh, I got it one night on the Strip after work and a party that I worked."

"Who were you with?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Christina Anne, just answer the question!"

"I was with the men I had just partied with and with the guy who organized the party."

"Who is he? What's his name?"

"I don't know his real name. We know him as Big D."

"Do you know what the D stands for?"

Christina shakes her head. "I might have heard it before, but I really don't remember."

"It wouldn't happen to be Donato Giordano?"

"I think that's it…yeah, that must be it. I heard someone call him Don G."

"Christina, do you know what that man does?"

"He organizes the parties where I work sometimes."

"He's also a pimp. That butterfly is the mark that he puts on each of the prostitutes that work for him."

"I already told you I'm not a prostitute."

"You get paid to party with those guys, don't you?"

"Yes, but that's not the same thing as walking the streets."

"No, it's not. But to put it bluntly, it's nothing more than glorified prostitution. Only difference is you are not standing on a corner."

"Mom, how can you even say that? I am NOT like those girls who walk up and down the strip. I don't walk up to guys and ask them if they want to get laid or anything. They come to me. They look for me and pay me to show them a good time."

"Christina, stop lying to yourself. You know that what I am saying is true. I'm not saying it to be mean, I'm saying it because I care about you. Some of the other victims also have the same tattoo and I'm concerned. We still don't know who that madman is. All we know is that he seems to enjoy preying on young women who make their money by dancing and then he kills them."

"Mom, I know. I know this person is a creep and that he kills girls. I know I was lucky to survive. I really don't need the details. I get it."

"No, Christina, you don't get it. And you are going to listen to what I am telling you. You're going to hear every detail. Maybe then you'll understand why I am so outdone by all of this."

Catherine pauses, expecting a smart remark by Christina. Instead, Chrissy looks at her with a resigned look on her face.

"Alright, Mom, you win. Always."

Catherine sighs before beginning. "Christina, this person takes great pride in humiliating women. He preys on women who try to earn a living by dancing. It seems like he observes this victims for awhile before he makes his move. He seems to know when each girl is expected to not be on stage…when each girl is going to be outside, alone with no one nearby to help. He takes his time. He beats his victims mercilessly, making sure to leave plenty of bruises and broken bones in his wake. He then rapes his victim brutally before beating her some more, inflicting even more damage. He then slowly kills the victim, making sure to take his time. He'll choke her until she is about to pass out and then he lets go, allowing her to catch her breath. He repeats this until he finally gets tired of the game and finishes her off."

"I remember him beating me and I passed out. Then I remember starting to wake up and feeling his hands around my neck. I guess I passed out again and then when I fully woke up, the paramedic was near me and you and Uncle Grissom came over."

Catherine nods. "With you, his plot went wrong. Best I can guess, something or someone interrupted him because he ran off before he knew for sure that you were dead."

"I got lucky…I guess I'm tougher than I seem."

Catherine raises her eyebrows. "That is NOT the case. He always makes sure that his victims are dead before leaving. I don't think he'd all of a sudden decide to be merciful. He definitely was interrupted and had to run or someone would see him. All I can say, Christina, is that you are very lucky that Sapphire came out when she did. If not, I'd be planning your funeral…my first baby."

"Well, thank goodness that wasn't the case."

"You aren't the least bit remorseful, are you?"

"Why would I be sorry? I wasn't committing a crime."

"Think about it…you LIED to me. You've been sneaking out and going to this secret job at the French Palace. I went to work as I do every other night thinking that you and your sister were safe and sound at home. I begin my night and Grissom tells me that we have another victim of the Strip Club Killer. I got there and saw the victim and was processing the scene. I was thinking to myself that the victim couldn't have been much older than you and my heart broke for that girl's mother, knowing that her world was about to come crashing down around her. I offered up a silent prayer of thanks that I didn't have to worry about something like that happening to my daughter." She pauses to brush away tears that are threatening to fall from her eyes before continuing with a shaky voice. "We were just finishing up the scene when I got a call that there was another victim. Grissom and I rushed over to the French Palace and as we were walking onto the scene, the paramedic realized that the victim was still alive. She called us over and I was silently rejoicing that this girl was lucky. When I saw the condition of the victim, I realized that it was nothing short of a miracle. She was beaten to a pulp and then I heard her crying and immediately, my thought was to comfort her just as I'd comfort you if you were crying. Little did I know that I would be comforting you. I knelt down and brushed the hair out of the girl's face and to my horror, I saw you. The same thing that I was feeling, sympathy towards a stranger for their daughter being in that situation, I was suddenly facing. My heart broke at that sight. There you were, barely clinging to life, and I couldn't protect you."

"Mom, it isn't your fault."

"If I weren't working at night, maybe I could have saved you the pain."

"Mom, you can't say that."

"No, I can't. See, I see so much of myself in you. From talking to you, it seems like you made up your mind that you were going to dance at the French Palace and my being at home wasn't going to deter you."

"Yeah, that's true." She ducks her head slightly as Catherine glares at her. "Well, there were a couple of nights when you were off. I climbed out of my window and Rocky was waiting for me and he drove me to work. There were a few times when I was coming back in that you nearly caught me. I'd just have walked in the front door when you were pulling up outside. Those were the mornings when you would hear me in the shower. That was the only way you wouldn't know that I had been out all night."

Catherine sighs. "I did a lot of thinking while you were in the hospital. In hindsight, I realize that I probably saw you many times when you were just coming in. I have to give it to you, Christina; you were good at not getting caught."

"Thanks."

"That was not a compliment. Think about it. If you had gotten caught before, you wouldn't have been at the French Palace and you wouldn't have been attacked."

"That's true. So, what's next?"

"What do you mean? You recover. You stop dancing. You have a baby."

"I mean with the case."

"With the case? I don't really know. I mean, you are the only person to survive. This guy never leaves any DNA behind. He makes sure to clean up this mess."

"But I thought you said he couldn't finish."

"He couldn't finish you off. He makes sure to clean up BEFORE he finishes off the victims. So, barring you having a sudden revelation as to who this guy is, the trail is pretty much dead. We almost have to wait for him to select another victim and to be sloppy and leave us a clue."

"Well, can't you ask about the people who go to the clubs?"

"Christina, outside of the people that you are paid to 'party' with, do you really know all of the people who come into the club and how often these people come in?"

"No, there are way too many people."

"Exactly. That's why we can't go based on what you girls observe. I remember when I was dancing, I wouldn't notice half of the patrons until one would pay for a private dance. Even if we'd narrow it down to people who acted strange, many people who frequent those clubs act in strange manners, but that doesn't mean that any of them is the perpetrator. So, all we can do is wait and re-examine evidence while we wait. You'll probably have to go to the station to give your story, but that's about it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I went back a little so that this update would make sense. To my loyal readers, thanks for waiting for this update. Things have been hectic but I finally got inspired. *LilKass***

* * *

"So, what's next?"

"What do you mean? You recover. You stop dancing. You have a baby."

"I mean with the case."

"With the case? I don't really know. I mean, you are the only person to survive. This guy never leaves any DNA behind. He makes sure to clean up this mess."

"But I thought you said he couldn't finish."

"He couldn't finish you off. He makes sure to clean up BEFORE he finishes off the victims. So, barring you having a sudden revelation as to who this guy is, the trail is pretty much dead. We almost have to wait for him to select another victim and to be sloppy and leave us a clue."

"Well, can't you ask about the people who go to the clubs?"

"Christina, outside of the people that you are paid to 'party' with, do you really know all of the people who come into the club and how often these people come in?"

"No, there are way too many people."

"Exactly. That's why we can't go based on what you girls observe. I remember when I was dancing, I wouldn't notice half of the patrons until one would pay for a private dance. Even if we'd narrow it down to people who acted strange, many people who frequent those clubs act in strange manners, but that doesn't mean that any of them is the perpetrator. So, all we can do is wait and re-examine evidence while we wait. You'll probably have to go to the station or someone will come here so that you can give your story, but that's about it."

"Are there any hints at all as to who this guy is?"

"No, there are not."

"What if he tries to attack me again? I mean, he's got to know I survived."

"Maybe he doesn't. He did beat you up pretty badly Christina."

"Well, he's going to figure something out when he does not see an obituary for me."

Catherine inwardly cringes as she realizes that Christina may have a point. Rather than worry her, though, she tries to reassure her.

"Well, even if he knows you are alive, this guy usually does not find out the real name of his victim until AFTER she is dead, when her name appears in the papers. Also, he does not know where you live. So I think that as long as you do not go back to the French Palace, you will do just fine."

"I'm going to need my money. I did work last week."

"I'll bring you there…during the DAY…and we can get your money and clean out your locker."

"Okay, thanks Cath-I mean Mom."

"I'll let you get back to sleep. It's only 1am. I'll wake you up when it's time for breakfast."

"Okay. Do you think I can have a pain pill? I'm really sore."

"Sure."

She gives Christina the pill and then lets herself out and goes to her own room where she herself lies down and tries to calm her racing mind and get some sleep. After tossing and turning for awhile, her exhaustion from the past few days catches up to her and she succumbs to sleep.

Catherine wakes up to the sun streaming through her window. She glances at the clock and sees that it is 7:30am. She reaches for her phone and calls Lily to check on Lindsay. After making sure that Lindsay is okay and chatting with Lily for a few moments, she hangs up and goes down the hallway to Christina's room. She finds her still asleep and gently wakes her.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"I slept okay once the pain killer kicked in."

"That's good. I think it's time you ate something. You do have to take your medicine. What are you-?"

Catherine is interrupted by a knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be. I'll be right back."

Christina sits quietly, thinking about the recent events as Catherine makes her way downstairs to see who is at the door. When Catherine opens the door, she finds herself face to face with the person she despises most besides the Strip Club Killer…Rocky.

"What in hell are you doing here, Rocky?"

"Hello to you too Mrs. Willows. I heard about Chrissy and wanted to come and see her."

"Well, you can't. Seeing you is the last thing she needs right now."

"Honestly, I think that is something for Chrissy to decide...not you. She IS 16 years old."

"She's gone through enough already Rocky."

"I'm not here to upset her. I am her boyfriend, which I am sure she told you."

"Yes, and you were seeing her behind my back."

"Despite what you may think, I love Chrissy. I just want to visit her for a little while."

Catherine sighs as she remembers herself at 16. Anything that Lily said, she was determined to do the exact opposite. "Alright, Rocky, you can see her…but only for a little while. She is still recovering from the attack and from surgery to take care of the internal trauma. She needs her rest."

"I understand. Thanks Mrs. Willows."

"She's upstairs in her room. It's…"

"I know where it is."

Catherine smiles tightly. "I'm sure you do. Let me go ahead of you and I'll let her know you're here."

Catherine leads Rocky up the stairs to Christina's room. She knocks softly before opening it. "Chrissy, you have a visitor." She turns to Rocky and nods as she opens the door further.

Immediately, Christina's face lights up. "Rocky! You came!"

"Hey Beautiful. How're you feeling?"

"I feel alright, I guess. Still sore as hell from that creep."

"Do they know who he is?"

"They have no clue. I'm the only person to survive, so they're hoping that when Sapphire scared him off that he left some clue behind that can let him get caught."

"I see."

"Rocky, why didn't you come see me at the hospital?"

"I knew you hadn't had a chance to tell your mom that you and I were still dating and if I just showed up at the hospital, she'd go through the roof. I figured I'd let you get home and give you a chance to tell her before I just showed up."

"Okay. So, you don't know what all is going on then?"

"No, I don't. How badly are you hurt?"

"I had a collapsed lung, some broken ribs, a broken leg and arm, bruised kidney, and head trauma."

"Wow…sounds like he really did a number on you."

"He did. They just took out the tube in my side yesterday."

"So you'll be suffering for a long time with all those injuries. You won't be able to dance again for at least 3 months."

"There's actually more. Apparently when he attacked me, I was 5 weeks pregnant."

Rocky looks stunned. "You were pregnant? You were going to have a baby?"

"I actually still am. They don't know how, but by some miracle, the attack didn't make me lose the baby. I'm due in July."

"I'm going to be a Daddy?"

Christina looks at him sadly. "Rocky, I don't know. I mean, with all of the parties and everything, the timing is very close. I honestly don't know who the father is. I'm really sorry. I should have been more careful."

Rocky sighs deeply and looks down for a moment. "It's okay, Chrissy. I know that you did those parties and were with those other guys to get extra money."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not. Whatever happens, I'm going to love this baby as if it were mine."

"I love you Rocky."

"I love you too, baby. I'll let you get some rest now. I'll come visit you again, if your mom lets."

"I'm sure she will." She turns to the door. "Won't you, Mom?"

Catherine comes back in. "Yes. Rocky, I heard what you told Christina. Even though I am not thrilled about the fact that you two went behind my back and were dating, you do care about Christina and you did agree to accept this child even if you are not the father. So, I'll give you a chance. You may come and see my daughter with my blessing. The only catch is that Christina is not to cut school anymore to be with you and she must honor her curfew. I would also say that you can't be here when I am not, but I know you'd just do what you want anyway. So I will say that I do not want the two of you alone upstairs if you are supposed to be watching Lindsay. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll escort Rocky out and be back up in a moment."

Catherine follows Rocky downstairs and lets him out. Before she can shut the door, he turns back to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Willows."

"See you tomorrow, Rocky. Hopefully seeing you will help Christina to recover more quickly."

"One can hope."

As soon as Catherine shuts the door, Rocky smirks evilly to himself as he walks away.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Catherine takes a deep breath before heading back upstairs to Chrissy.

"Thanks for letting Rocky see me and for letting me keep seeing him."

"I'm still not thrilled about it, but I'm not going to fight you on this. Let's just say that I was your age once and I do not want to make the same mistakes that my mom made with me. Now back to what we were discussing before Rocky got here. It's time to take your medicine, but you've got to eat first. What are you hungry for?"

"I'm not really hungry. I'd rather just take the medicine and go back to sleep or whatever."

"Chrissy, the instructions say that you have to have food on your stomach to take your medicine. Plus you've got to think about the baby. You are not just eating for yourself."

"Fine, just give me eggs or waffles or something with a glass of milk or juice. I don't care."

"Alright, one plate of eggs and waffles and one glass of orange juice coming right up."

Catherine leaves her alone upstairs while she prepares her food and gets her medicine ready. She returns upstairs with the requested food and juice and also a piece of fruit for Christina. After making sure she eats everything and takes her medicine, she helps Christina get cleaned up and back to bed. That task completed, she goes back downstairs and loads the dishwasher before picking up her phone and dialing the number of the one person who she knows will keep her grounded. After a few rings, the person answers.

"Grissom."

"Gil, it's Catherine again. What time are you coming over?"

"Right now."

"Where are you?"

"Open your door."

Catherine runs to the door and finds Grissom on the other side. Upon seeing him, she flies into his arms as her emotions catch up with her. "Thank you so much for coming."

Gil puts his arms around her and kisses her head. "Long night?"

"You have no idea." She pulls back as she lets him in and shuts the door. "It was a long night and a long morning. After I spoke to you, I found out so many other things about Christina that I never knew. Then this morning, Rocky showed up to see her."

"He's got some nerve."

"That's what I said when I opened the door and saw him on the other side. I told him to leave Christina alone and never come back."

"So he left?"

"No. He told me that the decision was really up to Chrissy. And you know what, Gil? He had a point. I was doing exactly what I swore I'd never do. I was being just like my mother. I see now that she just had my best interests at heart, but I never saw that when I was Chrissy's age. I could have done the same thing my mother did and get the same results…pushing my daughter away…or I could do things a bit differently."

"Do things differently, meaning what?"

"Meaning I let Rocky in to see her. Gil, you should've seen her face. She was positively thrilled to see him. She filled him in on her injuries and also on the fact that she is pregnant. He took the news quite well…even after she told him that there was a strong chance that he is not the father of her baby. He promised to love her and the baby and such. So, I agreed to let him continue to visit her while she is recovering and also to allow them to continue dating with some boundaries. She can't skip school anymore and she can't entertain him upstairs when she is alone with Lindsay. I do not want my youngest daughter more scarred than she already will be as a result of this."

"So true. I can see why you greeted me the way you did. You did have a rough time with him here."

"That's not the least of it, Gil. After my mother left with Lindsay, I went back upstairs to check on Christina and I realized that I really do not know my daughter at all."

"That definitely doesn't sound good."

"It definitely isn't. I never in a million years thought my daughter would be doing what she's been doing."

"Such as?"

Catherine closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as everything she discussed with Chrissy comes flooding back to her. Gil sees this and takes this as hesitancy.

"Cath, you don't have to-"

"No, I need to talk to someone about this. I definitely do not want to talk to my mother about this. I already told you that Christina has been with at least thirty men in one year. Well, I found out how. When she told me about all of the men, I asked her point blank if she was also a prostitute. She told me that she was not. That gave me SOME relief…but that was very short-lived. When I went back upstairs to check on Chrissy, I asked her how she could have had so many partners, especially since Rocky was her first and they have been dating this whole time. She told me that she gets paid to work parties for some of the patrons who want a bunch of girls to show them a good time and that she also goes to random parties and drinks and wakes up with random people."

"So she really does not know how many guys she's really been with?"

"No, not at all. It could be way more than that. I also found out how she managed to dance and such without me knowing. She explained how she'd tuck Lindsay into bed and then sneak out to go to work and how she'd sneak back in. Sometimes she would get up to her room as I was pulling into the driveway. When she told me that, I thought I was going to be sick again. I managed not to, though. She must have seen my face because she said she didn't mean to upset me by telling me everything. I told her that I want her to talk to me and that I'll always love her."

"Wow, if she were my daughter I'd probably be through the roof. I'm upset enough right now and Christina isn't even my daughter."

"That's not all. When I hugged her, I saw a butterfly tattoo on her back. That's the same tattoo that Donato Giordano's girls have."

"Where have I heard that name before?"

"He's a pimp. Apparently he organizes the parties that Christina works. So, my daughter IS both a stripper and a prostitute."

As the words leave her mouth, she bursts into tears again. Gil pulls her into his arms and kisses the top of her head.

"I'm going to be sick. Oh, Catherine, I'm so sorry. I wish I would have known. Why didn't you call me? I would have called Ecklie or something and left early so I could have gotten here sooner."

"I didn't call you because I was so tired. I get Christina back to sleep and then I went to bed myself."

"I just hate thinking of you having to hear all of this last night and not having anyone to talk to…a shoulder to cry on."

Catherine looks up at him. "Gil, thanks, you always know just what to say."

Gil reaches down and gently brushes her tears away. They look at each other for a moment before Catherine pushes herself up and presses her lips to his. He puts his arms around her as he returns the kiss. When he feels her tongue seeking entry into his mouth, he parts his lips and lets her in. When breathing becomes a problem, they pull away. After a moment, they lean in again and join their lips. Gil pulls her up and onto his lap as they continue kissing passionately. At the same time, Catherine runs her hands through his hair, down his back, and around to his chest as she grinds herself against him. This brings Gil back to reality. He gently pushes her away and looks into her eyes.

"Cath, are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely positive."

"I just don't want us to do something that we will regret later. I planned things differently for our first time."

"Gil, I want this…I NEED this, please."

Wordlessly, he claims her lips again as he pulls her tightly against him. She wraps her legs around his waist as her hands move to the buttons on his shirt. She quickly unbuttons it and pushes it off of his shoulders. Without breaking the kiss, he stands up and moves his hands to her backside, supporting her as he carries her upstairs to her bedroom. He shuts the door and locks it before pressing her up against the door. Holding on with her legs, she lifts her tank top over her head and tosses it aside. He kisses his way down past her neck to her breasts as his hands caress up and down her back and he grinds himself against her core, causing her to moan. He slowly and gently sucks and laves one nipple as his hand moves to caress the other.

Feeling his mouth on her breast causes Catherine to gasp.

"Oh, Gil, so good."

He continues this treatment as he moves to the other breast. He turns and carries her to the bed and sets her down gently. She sits up and reaches for his pants. She unbuckles his belt before unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. She pushes his pants down along with his boxers, freeing his manhood. She reaches for it and gets on her knees on the floor before closing her mouth over his shaft. Feeling her mouth on him, he throws his head back and groans her name.

"Oh, Cath...Catherine baby."

When he feels that he is about to come, he pushes her back gently and lifts her back onto the bed. He reaches down and removes her shorts and panties. He looks down at her for a moment in awe of her beauty.

"You are so beautiful."

He climbs over her and presses their bodies together as he claims her mouth once again. His hands trace her face before moving down her body. His mouth soon follows the path forged by his hands as he once again sucks one nipple into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue while he caresses her other breast with his hand. After awhile he switches sides as he treats her other breast to the same treatment from his mouth. He continues kissing his way down her body, giving attention to every inch of skin. When he gets to her core, he skips over it and continues down her legs, causing her to whimper in frustration.

"Gil, please."

"Please what?"

"I need you."

"Patience, Cath, patience."

"But-"

"You said you needed this. Let me love you."

Without saying more, he continues his mission as he kisses all the way down to her toes before moving back up her legs. Catherine says nothing as he continues his mission. He kisses the inside of one thigh as he moves closer and closer to her core. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he presses his lips against her slit. He gently parts her lips with his finger and caresses her nub with his thumb. This action sends a jolt all through her body as she moans his name. He looks up at her smiles before inserting to fingers into her. He begins pumping those fingers in and out of her as his thumb continues to caress her swollen nub. Soon, her walls begin to tighten around him, signaling that she is close. He adds a third finger and continues pumping, pushing her closer and closer to her release. He then removes his thumb from her nub and replaces it with his tongue. He flicks his tongue against her before sucking the nub into his mouth.

Her breathing becomes shorter as she gasps his name. "Gil…ah…oh my god, Gil."

He continues pumping his fingers in and out of her and sucking on her nub as he feels her slowly losing control. Finally, he bites down gently on her nub, pushing her over the edge as she screams his name. He removes his fingers moves his hands to her hips, holding her steady as he laps up every drop of her release. He then kisses his way back up her body and claims her lips again. She gasps as she tastes herself on his tongue and feels herself become wet once again. Gil caresses his manhood as he lines himself up with her entrance. He looks into her eyes as he pushes into her gently. Her eyes get wide and her mouth forms an 'O' as he continues pushing into her until he is all the way in. He stills his motion and presses his forehead to hers as he waits for her to adjust to his size. After a moment, she rocks her hips, signaling him to move. He pulls back and gently thrusts back into her. She wraps her legs around him and pushes on his ass with her feet as her nails rake up and down his back.

"Ah Cath, oh baby."

"Faster Gil."

He picks up the pace as he feels himself getting closer and closer to the edge. He grits his teeth and tries to hold off his release, wanting them to come at the same time. Instead, he focuses on the woman whose legs are tightly wrapped around him. The only sounds that can be heard are their labored breathing and their bodies slapping together.

"Gil, so close…oh god…so damned close."

"Me too, Cath. I want us to come together."

He reaches between them and flicks his thumb over her sensitive nub. Catherine's breath hitches even more as her walls tighten around him.

"Oh Gil! Oh yeah."

Not to leave him neglected, Catherine reaches between them and lightly squeezes his sac, causing him to lose the hold he had on his control. He begins to thrust violently as his release takes a hold of him.

After a few more thrusts, both of them fall over the edge moaning each other's names. Afterwards, Gil pulls out of her and they lay side by side, holding each other.

"That was…wow. You are so beautiful Cath."

Catherine kisses his chest and looks up at him.

"Thanks, Gil, I really needed that."

"I'm glad I could be here for you. I…Catherine, I love you."

She tilts her head up and kisses him tenderly.

"I love you too, Gil."


End file.
